Pakistan’s oil minister said there was solid interest from multinationals such as Eni, BP, and OMV in bidding for 53 oil and gas exploration blocs concentrated in the country’s south.
Petroleum Minister Asim Hussain said he hoped to use the oil and gas gained from auctioning off an area of 800,000 square km offshore and onshore in the provinces of Sindh, Baluchistan and the North West Frontier primarily for domestic use.
Pakistan, which said it produced 69,954 barrels of oil per day in 2007-08, estimates it has 54 trillion cubic feet in recoverable reserves of natural gas and 934 million barrels of oil.
“There are well known names,” Hussain told Reuters in an interview while on a trip to Britain to encourage bids, adding that Tullow, Czech firm MND and Pakistani companies had attended meetings.
“We don’t know who will be bidding but they’ve expressed interest and met me. There’s a lot of activity.”
Hussain gave no details on how much oil and gas might be found on the concessions, saying that further geological studies would be necessary. He also gave no details on the terms of the deal, except to say there would be no base price for bids.
Pakistan is hamstrung by power shortages, which Hussain hopes to alleviate by increasing oil and gas exploration.
“We’re doing it for international use also,” he said. “But first we need to meet domestic demand.”
Around 53 per cent of Pakistanis go without power for at least eight hours a day, a Gallup Pakistan poll found.
In 2008, natural gas accounted for 48 per cent of Pakistan’s power output and fuel oil 16 per cent, according to consultancy Facts Global Energy.
The representative of a London engineering consultancy, which was considering investing in the project, said despite the additional feasibility studies needed it seemed viable, and that Pakistan’s domestic instability would not scare off investors.
Petroleum Minister Asim Hussain said he hoped to use the oil and gas gained from auctioning off an area of 800,000 square km offshore and onshore in the provinces of Sindh, Baluchistan and the North West Frontier primarily for domestic use.
Pakistan, which said it produced 69,954 barrels of oil per day in 2007-08, estimates it has 54 trillion cubic feet in recoverable reserves of natural gas and 934 million barrels of oil.
“There are well known names,” Hussain told Reuters in an interview while on a trip to Britain to encourage bids, adding that Tullow, Czech firm MND and Pakistani companies had attended meetings.
“We don’t know who will be bidding but they’ve expressed interest and met me. There’s a lot of activity.”
Hussain gave no details on how much oil and gas might be found on the concessions, saying that further geological studies would be necessary. He also gave no details on the terms of the deal, except to say there would be no base price for bids.
Pakistan is hamstrung by power shortages, which Hussain hopes to alleviate by increasing oil and gas exploration.
“We’re doing it for international use also,” he said. “But first we need to meet domestic demand.”
Around 53 per cent of Pakistanis go without power for at least eight hours a day, a Gallup Pakistan poll found.
In 2008, natural gas accounted for 48 per cent of Pakistan’s power output and fuel oil 16 per cent, according to consultancy Facts Global Energy.
The representative of a London engineering consultancy, which was considering investing in the project, said despite the additional feasibility studies needed it seemed viable, and that Pakistan’s domestic instability would not scare off investors.
